For Darts Pro, Pub Game Has a Real Point

Darts. The game brings to mind a beefy guy in a pub who breaks between gulps of beer to sling missiles at a round, multicolored board. The winner gets a beer and the loser buys it.

But when Sandy Reitan of Torrance throws her darts at the board 7 feet, 9 inches away, it’s somewhat different. She’s not in a smoky pub, casually sipping a brew. Reitan travels all over the world to play darts and earns money doing it. It’s her job.

“It was an accident,” Reitan said. “I just fell into it. I never thought I was going to make it my life or make a living of it.”

That’s because she was introduced to the game in a festive pub atmosphere in Europe. Ten years ago Reitan was visiting England, where playing darts is popular, and immediately became hooked on the game.

“It was born in England,” Reitan said. “Over there darts are similar to football or baseball in the States.”

England is also where the world’s top competitors and moneymakers live. Playing darts may be fun, but it’s also serious business.

“It is a pub game originally,” said Tom Fleetwood, general secretary of the American Dart Assn., “but now it’s played in considerably different atmospheres. They play in ballrooms, fancy hotels and convention centers.”

Reitan knows about launching darts in those places. The 36-year-old has been doing it professionally for nine years.

After her European vacation, Reitan played darts for four years in Southern California Dart Assn. South Bay leagues. She became the country’s top woman player.

From 1981 to 1985, she dominated the women’s circuit as the No. 1 professional in the United States. Now she’s No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 14 in the world.

“I just don’t like to lose,” she said. “I probably play harder than most women. I always play not to lose, and to do that you have to concentrate.”

Reitan has won about 100 titles. The Dart Shoppe in Anaheim, which she bought six years ago with her father, Ray, has walls covered with her plaques and trophies.

And 20 “special” plaques decorate her Torrance apartment.

In 1983 Reitan earned one of those distinct titles when she became the only American woman to win the prestigious World Cup in Edinburgh, Scotland. The event is considered the Olympics of darts and involves the top two competitors from each country. Reitan beat England’s Maureen Flowers, the world’s top-ranked woman at the time.

“Physical ability has nothing to do with this,” Reitan said. “You need a positive attitude, concentration and a will to win. The mind is a powerful tool, and it’s going to make or break you in darts.”

Reitan has won the women’s singles category of the triple-crown Dallas Open three times. She’s also won the World Masters in England twice and the U.S. Open in Washington once.

In 1982 she won the Royal Hawaiian mixed doubles open with her husband, Australian Andy Green, who is also a professional player. They received $5,000 and two large, wooden Hawaiian statues that sit in their living room.

“I remember when I was in Vietnam,” Green said, “and the guys at the bar would say, ‘Hey, Aussie, throw me a bull’s-eye!’ But we’re not just dart shooters coming out of pubs now. The sport has grown.”

Its popularity has increased, but at a much slower pace for women than men. Prize money for men is double and women are outnumbered two to one on the professional circuit. Reitan says, however, that more women are becoming serious competitors.

“I think women are playing to win now,” she said. “The competition is definitely harder than when I started. Men have always been brought up to be more competitive, and that’s why they do so much better.”

As one of six women who travel on the yearlong circuit, Reitan makes about $20,000 in prize money and travels 40 weekends. Most tournaments pay $500 for the women’s singles title and $600 for mixed doubles. Private sponsors help pay travel expenses and entry fees.